


So You Live in New York

by Titan_Hotline



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Author!Eren, Christmas, Eren owns a coffeeshop, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, New Years, New York, Rating may go up, Sasha is in an orchestra, Sasha plays viola, ereri, hange is crazy, riren - Freeform, springles - Freeform, yumikuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 00:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5647054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titan_Hotline/pseuds/Titan_Hotline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is a famous author in New York, who published his first book when he was still in college. He owns a small coffee shop on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, which he runs with his friends he met at the University of Maine. Levi got out of college four years ago, and works as a doctor in a hospital. They meet when they both attend a concert by Sasha's orchestra. They discover similarities between them and start to hit it off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So You Live in New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up late sucks... or does it?

Eren almost had a heart attack when he woke up. His alarm on his phone hadn’t gone off, and sunlight was already pouring through the window of his apartment. He grabbed his phone, his eyes widening as he looked at the time. It was 7:45. He was already thirty minutes late for work.

The brunette flew out of his bed, knocking over his nightstand in the process. He ran to his bathroom, hurriedly pulling his hairbrush through his hair and brushing his teeth. He threw on a blue plaid shirt over a plain white long-sleeve one, put on some jeans and sneakers, grabbed his phone and a granola bar, and was out the door in record time. 

==================================================================

By the time Eren got to his coffee shop, it was 8:03. A girl with light, curly brown hair stared at him as he burst through the door. Eren tried to avoid the glares he was receiving as he threw away his granola bar wrapper and went into the back of the shop.

“Wow, Eren, you’re late again!” Jean said with mock surprise. Connie turned around from where he was separating filters, raising an eyebrow.

“My alarm didn’t go off again.” It was no unusual occurrence for Eren to be late. It happened at least once every two weeks. Jean sighed, turning back around to concentrate on boiling water. Eren mumbled under his breath, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out as many mugs as he could carry. He hooked his foot in the handle of the door, pulling it open. He did his best not to make a ruckus as he set seven mugs down at once. The girl with light brown hair turned to look at him again with another glare.

Eren sighed, walking up to Sasha, who was sitting at the cash register. Sasha was stuffing a baked potato in her mouth, finishing it off with a swig of water.

“When’s your orchestra concert?” Eren asked.

“It’s in two days,” Sasha replied. “I’ve got another rehearsal in an hour, so do you mind if I get going?” 

Eren nodded. “Get Ymir to come out here while you’re at it.”

Sasha walked into the kitchen, grabbing her viola case. She walked over to Ymir, tapping her on the shoulder.  
“What is it, potato girl?” Ymir asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Eren told me that you need to take over the cash register. I’ve got to go to-”

Ymir cut Sasha off. She dried her hands off with a paper towel, tossing it in the trash can under the sink. “Yeah, yeah, I got it. You don’t have to keep blabbering.” Ymir cracked her knuckles and went out to behind the counter. Sasha followed suit, except she headed out the door. She hurried to her car, putting her viola in the back and hopping in the front.

Eren watched the door for a second after Sasha had run out before his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, wondering who on earth could be texting him right now. He only got the chance to see that it was Armin who had texted him before the screen turned off. Eren grunted, turning his phone back on and punching in his passcode. “What could Armin want…?” he murmured under his breath.

I’m getting off early today, so do you wanna hang out at that new Japanese restaurant downtown at six? 

Eren only just then remembered that there was a Japanese restaurant downtown. He had read about it in the paper a couple of weeks ago, but it slipped his mind to go down and try it. His hands were already typing a response before his mind caught up with him.

Sure, Armin. I’ll just tell Reiner to close the shop up at ten before I leave. 

Eren pocketed his phone, turning around as a person came through the door quite noisily.

Hange slammed her palms down on the counter, making Eren jump.

“Hange! Can you try not to be so loud when you come in!?” Eren said in a hushed voice. Hange smirked, falling backwards into a stool and folding her arms on the counter. “Great to see ya’ too, Eren! I want my usual,” Hange said, as energetic as ever. Eren sighed, turning around and pouring her a cup full of black espresso before turning around and handing it to her. Hange sent a bunch of quarters flying down the counter towards Ymir. 

“Don’t get so hyped up that go skydiving off of the Empire State Building on a skateboard,” Eren warned, watching Hange down the coffee in a mere fourteen seconds.

==================================================================

Eren checked the clock. It was already 5:24 P.M. He decided it was probably time to get going, since there was bound to be a hell of a lot of traffic. He walked into the kitchen, pulling his phone out before walking over to Reiner.

“Hey, man, I need you to take care of the shop until tomorrow. I’m heading out to hang with Armin at the new Japanese place downtown.” 

“Woah, seriously? I went to that place a few nights ago with Annie and Bert. It’s amazing,” Reiner commented as he turned around. Eren’s eyes lit up at the remark. “Really? It’s that good?”

“You betcha’.” 

“Alright, thanks man,” Eren said, tossing Reiner the keys. Lock up as soon as everyone’s out around ten. See ya’.”

Reiner nodded, catching the keys and putting them into his pocket. Eren walked out of his shop, heading to the parking garage where he had left his car, up on floor three. He owned a silver Nissan Rogue that he’d bought roughly about a year ago. He had kept it in pretty good condition since then.

Eren jogged up to his car, unlocking it and jumping into the driver’s seat. He put the key in the ignition, turning it on and heading down onto the street. Just like he had predicted, the traffic was pretty heavy. Knowing it would be a long wait, Eren turned on his phone and pulled up his conversation with Armin.

I’m stuck in traffic… blegh.

Psh. You should really start riding your bike. It doesn’t get caught in traffic, you know?

If it wasn’t the seventh time you’d told me to do that, I’d start.

Really? How many more times is it gonna take me to actually make you do it?

A million.

Great. Better start now then, ‘eh? 

Armin was right. Eren hadn’t rode his bike to and from work, even though it was only about two thirds of a mile. He mainly didn’t want to get it out of the closet he’d had it in ever since he got out of college. Maybe he’d just have to do it next year, if Armin threatened to make him eat an entire tomato if he didn’t do it. He hated tomatoes. 

==================================================================

Thirty minutes and four miles later, Eren finally gave up and pulled his car into another parking garage and ran down the stairs until he was on the sidewalk. He felt like a frozen-ass wooden board had replaced his neck. He rubbed two fingers against an especially tight spot in his shoulder muscle as he walked, trying to get the soreness to go away. 

Eren darted across the street that supposedly led to the restaurant, but he was following his GPS, so he wasn’t quite sure since the thing was a piece of crap. He hoped it was right, because it was two minutes shy of six o’clock. 

When Eren turned the corner, he felt a small wave of relief that his GPS had been right for once in it’s life. He pocketed his phone, walking up to the door and heading inside. A man who had a strange bowl cut greeted him as he walked in. “Table for one?” asked the man.

“No, thank you. I’m seated with my friend,” Eren said, looking around for Armin. He spotted the blonde, jerking his thumb toward his friend. Armin had his old leather satchel from his grandpa with him, probably stuffed full of books.

The man nodded, walking Eren over to the seat with two menus in hand. When Eren sat down, the man said, “I’m Marlowe Freudenberg, I’ll be your servant tonight. I’ll be back out in a few minutes once you’ve decided,” he said before walking off. Eren turned to look at the menu, browsing through his options. 

“I think I’m going to get this Yaki Gyoza,” Armin said. Eren cocked his head. “What on earth even is that, Armin?”

“My mom ate some about a year ago. She said they were pretty good…” Armin replied, trailing off in thought. He caught himself and snapped back to reality, pointing to a picture of it on Eren’s menu. Eren blinked. They did look good.

“Mind if I try one or two?” he asked. Armin nodded. “Sure. What are you getting?”

Eren quickly scanned over the menu. “A bowl of ramen, nothing special. What about drinks? I’m just gonna get some water.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Reiner came here with Bertholdt and Annie a little while ago. He said the place was pretty good,” Eren said, trying to avoid an awkward silence. 

“Really?” Armin said, raising an eyebrow. “I hope he’s not mistaken, because it’s on my tab tonight.” Eren chuckled, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket. Reiner and the rest of the employees had apparently decided it was a good idea to balance as many mugs on Bertholdt. A doomed expression crept up onto Eren’s face when he realized that was about a third of the mugs they owned.

“Remind me to never leave Reiner in charge of my shop again,” Eren said, pinching the bridge of his nose and showing Armin the picture. Armin just laughed, saying between breaths, “You’re gonna need a lot more mugs by tomorrow.”

“Kill me,” Eren said as Marlowe came back. “Have you decided what you want?”

Armin spoke up first. “Two cups of water, and I’d like Yaki Gyoza, please. My friend would just like some ramen. That’s all.”

Marlowe finished jotting down their orders on his notepad before smiling at them. “Your order will be right out,” he said, turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Eren turned back to Armin, folding his arms on the table.

“So, what books did you get at the library today?” Eren asked.

“Wow, how did you know?” Armin asked in faux awe before reverting back to his normal self. “Well, I picked up ‘Gone with the Wind’ again. I was thinking about getting War and Peace, but I’ve already read that two times, so I decided not too. Plus the librarian would’ve probably labeled me as insane”  
“Sounds like you, Armin. Oh, did you know that Sasha’s orchestra is having a concert in two days?”

“Woah, seriously? You gotta tell me this stuff, Eren! What’s it themed after? Where is it? What instrument does she play again… Viola, right? What chair is she?”

“Calm down, Armin, geez. I can only answer so many questions at once. So, first, apparently she is actually having one in two days. It completely slipped my mind until she told me this morning, right before she left for a rehearsal. Second, I think they’re just playing some random pieces. Third, she didn’t really tell me where it was. I’ll ask her in a sec. Fourth, yep, she plays viola. Fifth, I think fifth overall of something around fifteen?” As soon as he finished answering Armin’s questions, Eren pulled out his phone and opened up to his and Sasha’s conversation.

‘Yo, Armin’s gonna tag along to your concert too, but we kind of don’t know where it’s at. Help us out a bit?’ Eren set his phone face-down on the table again. Conveniently, Marlowe came out with their food and set it on the table.

“Thanks!” Eren said before digging into his food. The ramen was really good, confirming what Reiner said earlier. Armin seemed to be enjoying his, too. 

“You know, Eren, you should get a boyfriend.”

Eren choked on the water he was drinking, spitting it back into the cup. Of course, Armin knew about his sexuality since they were freshmen in high school. But still, this didn’t stop Eren from almost having his second heart attack of the day. 

“Dude! Could you not talk about that while we’re eating!?” Eren said in a rushed town, his face turning a light crimson.

Armin looked like he was trying really hard to keep from laughing. “Yeah, yeah, alright.” Eren was half tempted to dump his water on his friend, but decided to be the better person and not do it in public. He’d wait until he got the perfect chance later. 

==================================================================

Once Armin had paid the check and slung his satchel over his shoulder, and Eren had thrown away the cup filled with only ice, the two headed out the door. It was about eight now, and most of the traffic had dispersed. They chatted about real world events, their years in high school and college, and what Eren might be planning to do for his next book.

“I don’t have any ideas right now, really. Plus, I’m still working on getting the last book of my trilogy published right now, too, so don’t forget that. Eren groaned when he realized he’d have to reply to emails from his editor when he got back. He really wasn’t in the mood for anything this late right now.

“Do you know when it’ll come out?” Armin asked. “I’m thinking in January, maybe?” Eren replied. “I just sent the manuscript it, so I have to go through and do a bunch of editing and crap.”

“Heh. Well, that sucks, I guess. Can’t get it right the first time, can you?”

“Nope. Or the second time. Or the third. Maybe the fourth, if you’re lucky.” Eren winced as a cold bit of November air stung his eyes. “I wish I’d bought a scarf,” he said, sort of to himself.

Eren started as he felt a bump at his side. He turned, seeing a man who looked to be shorter than Armin glaring at him. He had an undercut that was barely noticeable because of his height. “Sorry, I didn’t see you the-”

“Just watch where you’re going,” the man said in a chilling tone, turning around and trudging off in the other direction. Eren huffed. “Some people these days.” Armin nodded. By then they were at the garage where Eren had left his car. “I’ll see you later, Armin!” Eren called, waving as he jogged off towards the elevator. Armin waved back, continuing his walk to where he had parked his bike. He hit the button that said four, leaning against the handrail as the elevator went up. It didn’t take long before he was able to step out and head to his car.

Eren got in, pulling out of his parking space and heading down until he was on the street. It was completely dark by then. The traffic had pretty much cleared up. Everyone was probably partying down at the bars or nightclubs, since it was a Friday. His apartment building wasn’t too far away, so it only took him about five minutes to get there and park. He greeted the woman at the desk before he went to the stairs, hurrying up them and unlocking his apartment. The first thing on his mind was to get to his computer and check his emails.

When he opened the lid to his mac, the first thing that happened was the montage of dinging that signaled new messages. Dozens of new messages. Eren just decided to get it over with and pull up his editor’s emails first. Sure enough, there were about three titled under the name ‘Erwin Smith’. Eren opened all three of them, most of them saying the same thing. He deleted the first two, replying to one that had the most stuff in it, namely a bunch of stuff he needed to fix about his manuscript. His reply was a half-assed ‘Will do, but probably tomorrow.’

The majority of the rest was just notifications that he’d have to check tomorrow, since his eyes were already drooping. Eren picked up the nightstand he had knocked over this morning, and made sure to set his alarm before setting his phone on the table. With that done, he brushed his teeth and changed into a t-shirt and some sweatpants. Before he fell into his bed, he locked all three locks on his door.

Strangely, the last thought that washed over his brain before he fell into unconsciousness was the ill-tempered man he had bumped into on the sidewalk today.


End file.
